1. Technical Field
The present invention pertains to the field of eyeglasses. More specifically, the present invention is concerned with fitting frames for eyeglasses to a customer and displaying to the customer, on a personal computer operated from a convenient location, such as the customer's home, how the customer would appear wearing the fitted eyeglass frames. The invention is further directed to obtaining information from the customer so as to help select a subset of eyeglass frames from the total set of frames available, and for displaying fitted images of eyeglass frames from the subset of frames to the customer.
2. Description of Related Art
As microcomputers have become increasingly powerful, more and more effort has been invested to enable offering products to a customer using a microcomputer to display the products. For selling products that a customer would wear, these efforts have resulted in systems in which a microcomputer adjusts the size of a product and, using a predetermined image of the customer, shows the customer how the customer would appear wearing the product. In particular, U.S. Pat. No. 5,280,570 to Jordan is directed to a system that shows a customer how the customer's eyes would appear to another person because of wearing eyeglasses with a certain prescription, causing the customer's eyes to appear larger or smaller, depending on the prescription, than without the lenses. This particular system includes elements that allow a customer to try on various eyeglasses, observe how the customer would appear wearing the eyeglasses, and place an order. The system uses lifestyle information obtained from the customer to limit what models of eyeglass frames it suggests to the customer. All of the elements of this system are physically collocated in a store where the customer must go in person to electronically try on the glasses and to place an order.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,515,268 to Youda discloses a system where a customer selects a product at a storefront location from a product list stored in a computer at a remote location. In this system a sensor detects customer size information and transmits it to the remote computer. The remote computer then selects a product of appropriate size and sends an image to the storefront for display on a monitor, showing the product superimposed on the customer. The product is fitted to the customer's body image using various computer transformations. Although the invention is not directed to a particular product, it teaches the use of an actuator in the form of a loop, which transfers product information to the customer. Such an actuator is of no use in fitting eyeglasses to a customer.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,592,248 issued to Norton et al, a method is provided for fitting eyeglasses to a customer by taking pictures of the customer at one location and transmitting those pictures to a remote location where the pictures are examined in a way that allows an accurate determination of the shape and size of the customer's head so that eyeglass frames may later be custom manufactured. Norton, however, does not teach or suggest showing the customer how the customer would appear to others while wearing different pairs of eyeglass frames.
In all of this prior art, the customer places an order at a storefront after trying on glasses at the storefront. In the case of Youda, although the order is transmitted to a remote computer, the product is nevertheless ordered at a storefront and tried on at a storefront.
What is needed is a way of enabling a customer to try on eyeglass frames at home and order from home a pair of eyeglasses after having an opportunity to carefully consider many different eyeglass frames, in order to more likely meet the customer's needs. Trying on the eyeglasses at home (electronically) allows the customer to make a decision without any sense of urgency. For an investment in a product that can last at least several years, and that is crucial to the customer's daily comfort, providing a method that encourages the customer to take the time needed to arrive at a prudent decision benefits the customer and also the merchant, to the extent the customer is satisfied with the purchase. In addition, such a system could make custom fitting frames economically feasible where in some cases it is not; in such a system, the cost of supplying eyeglasses could be allocated more to manufacturing custom-fitted frames because of saving the cost of paying an attendant to wait on a customer. Furthermore, by making the selection process easier to the customer, the customer may be more likely to purchase new eyeglasses as compared to traditional selection techniques.
What is further needed is a method of assisting a customer in the selection process of eyeglass frames. The present invention, by its ability to electronically store information concerning eyeglass frames, is not limited with respect to the inventory of frames that can be maintained by the system; unlike a retail optician that must necessarily limit the potential choice in eyeglass frames.
What is still further needed is a method that can further assist the customer in eyeglass frame selection by questioning the customer, such as via a questionnaire, so as to obtain relevant information concerning the customer's lifestyle and customer's preference in eyewear. Such information can then be processed in conjunction with the customer's physical head and face measurements to select a subset of frames from the total set of frames maintained in the system's frame database.
What is also needed is such a system that provides a convenient method of ordering the desired eyeglass frame, including having delivery at home or order fulfillment at any one of a number of optical retail locations.